Meghalaya Shops Act 2025: 4 Day Week and Night Shifts

Twelve hours a day, four days a week, and the other three days paid. That is now a lawful working pattern for a shop or commercial establishment in Meghalaya, and it sits in the substituted section 5 of the Meghalaya Shops and Establishments Act, 2003. The weekly ceiling did not move: forty-eight hours, whichever pattern the establishment picks.

First, a correction that matters. This is an amendment, not a new standalone Act, even though its catalogue title reads like one. The long title says it is an Act to Amend the Meghalaya Shops and Establishment Act, 2003, Act No. 4 of 2004, and its own short title is the Meghalaya Shops And Establishments Amendment Act, 2025. The 2003 Act remains the parent statute. Anything not amended still reads as it did.

It is in force. Section 1(2) says it shall come into force from the date of publication in the Official Gazette. It received the Governor's assent on 2 October 2025 and was published the same day in the Gazette of Meghalaya Extraordinary No. 161, dated Thursday, October 2, 2025, under notification No. LL(B).129/93/135 of the Law (B) Department.

The three lawful week patterns

Substituted section 5(1) fixes the number of hours in a normal working day, inclusive of the daily interval of rest, subject to a maximum of forty-eight hours in any week. Within that ceiling the provisos allow three shapes.

Days worked in the week Maximum spread-over per day What the other days are
Six days Not more than 9 hours per day The seventh day of that week is a paid holiday
Five days, under the flexibility provision Not more than 10 hours per day The remaining days of that week are paid holidays
Four days, under the flexibility provision Not more than 12 hours per day The remaining days of that week are paid holidays

Two points people get wrong about this table.

The limits are on spread-over, not on time at the machine. Section 5(1) says the period of work shall be so arranged that, inclusive of the interval for rest, it does not spread over more than the stated hours. Your lunch break sits inside the nine, ten or twelve hours, not on top of them.

And the compressed week is not unpaid time off. In each of the three provisos the days not worked are paid holidays.

Section 5(2) adds the break rule that applies whichever pattern is used: no employee shall be allowed to work for more than five hours continuously before he has had an interval for rest of at least half an hour.

Overtime: capped, optional, and paid at double

The second proviso to section 5(1) does three things in one sentence, and each is worth stating separately.

  1. A quarterly ceiling. Overtime working hours per quarter shall not be more than 144 hours.
  2. It may be optional. The proviso says this condition of overtime may be made optional to all employees.
  3. Double wages. Employees opting for overtime shall be entitled to wages at the rate of twice the ordinary rate of wages.

A quarter is roughly thirteen weeks, so 144 hours works out to about eleven hours of overtime a week before the statutory ceiling is reached.

Open every day of the year

Substituted section 6 is short and it removes the old weekly closing obligation entirely:

  • Every establishment registered under the Act may remain open on all days of the year, unless directed otherwise by way of Government order or notice.

Note what it does not do. It does not lengthen anyone's working week. The forty-eight hour cap in section 5(1) and the paid-holiday requirement in each proviso are untouched. A shop being open seven days is a rostering question, not a licence to work one person seven days.

Women on the night shift: the conditions are the law

Substituted section 8(1) permits women employees to work the night shift between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. in shops and commercial establishments under the Act. That permission is expressly subject to conditions, so the conditions are not guidance. They are the terms on which the shift is lawful at all.

Condition What section 8(1) requires
Facilities Rest rooms and a resting area specifically for women during the night shift at the workplace
Security The employer shall ensure proper lighting and CCTV cameras are operable within the premises as well as the surroundings
Committee, 10 or more workers An Internal Complaints Committee under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Prevention Prohibition and Redressal Act, 2013, Central Act 14 of 2013, operative for that establishment, displayed in a conspicuous place
Committee, fewer than 10 workers The establishment shall refer any sexual harassment complaint to the Local Committee of the District
Consent If a female employee is required to work after 8 p.m., her written consent shall be taken and kept as record in the establishment
Getting home Adequate safety and security arrangements during working hours, and efforts to see that women employees safely reach home after work

Section 8(2) lets the State Government add further conditions on the employment of women employees, by notification, from time to time.

The written consent requirement is the most checkable one. Condition (iii) requires the consent to be in writing and kept as a record in the establishment. That makes it a document that either exists in the file or does not, which is exactly the kind of thing an inspection or an RTI on inspection findings can settle.

Who the Act now covers, and what a breach costs

The amendment to section 3(1) inserts the words employing five or more employees between the words establishment and shall. That sets the threshold for the obligation in section 3(1) of the parent Act.

Substituted section 23 replaces the old penalty provision:

  • Whoever contravenes any provision of the Act or any Rules made under it is liable for a penalty which may extend to ₹50,000
  • The proviso raises it for repetition: for any second or subsequent contravention, the employer is liable to a penalty which may extend to ₹1,00,000

A rostering illustration. No real establishment is described.

A retail store in Shillong moves to a four-day roster. Each of those days runs from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

That is a twelve-hour spread-over, which proviso © to section 5(1) permits for a four-day week. The remaining three days of that week must be paid holidays. Across the week the arrangement must still respect the forty-eight hour maximum in section 5(1).

Within each twelve-hour day, section 5(2) requires a rest interval of at least half an hour before any employee has worked five hours continuously.

The store also wants two women employees on a shift ending at 10 p.m. Section 8(1) permits work between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., but only if the store has rest rooms and a resting area specifically for women, operable lighting and CCTV in the premises and surroundings, written consent from each of them kept on record, and arrangements aimed at their safe journey home. With fifteen workers, it is above the threshold in condition (ii), so it must constitute an Internal Complaints Committee under the 2013 Central Act and display it conspicuously.

If it runs the shift without the written consents, that is a contravention. Section 23 exposes it to a penalty up to ₹50,000, rising to up to ₹1,00,000 for a second or subsequent contravention.

What to ask the Labour Department

Two things are not answered by the Act itself: whether the State has added conditions under section 8(2), and how the Department is actually enforcing section 23. 

To,
The Public Information Officer,
Office of the Labour Commissioner,
Labour Department, Government of Meghalaya,
Shillong.

Subject: Information under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005 regarding the
Meghalaya Shops and Establishments Amendment Act, 2025.

Sir/Madam,

Under Section 6(1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, please provide:

1. A copy of every notification issued under sub-section 2 of Section 8 of the
   Meghalaya Shops and Establishments Act, 2003 as amended in 2025, adding
   conditions for the employment of women employees. If none has been issued,
   please state so in writing.

2. A copy of the Rules, if any, framed or amended following the Meghalaya Shops
   and Establishments Amendment Act, 2025, with the date of notification.

3. The number of establishments registered under Section 3 in each district,
   as on date, following the insertion of the words employing five or more
   employees.

4. The number of inspections carried out in the last two financial years in
   which compliance with the night shift conditions in Section 8 was examined,
   and the number in which written consent records were found to be absent.

5. The number of penalties imposed under Section 23 in the last two financial
   years, separately for first contraventions and for second or subsequent
   contraventions, with the total amount imposed and recovered.

6. The number of complaints received from employees regarding hours of work
   under Section 5, and the action taken on each.

I enclose the prescribed application fee of ₹10. If any part of this
information is held by another public authority, please transfer that part
under Section 6(3) within five days. Please supply the information within the
period fixed by Section 7(1).

Yours faithfully,
[Name]
[Full postal address]
[Date]

Draft it with the AI RTI Drafter, fix the reply deadline with the Timeline Tracker, and test a thin answer with the PIO Reply Checker.

Where employers slip

  • Calling it a new Act. Its long title says it amends the Meghalaya Shops and Establishment Act, 2003. Cite the 2003 Act as amended.
  • Treating twelve hours as the daily norm. Twelve hours is only permitted on a four-day week, and the weekly maximum stays at forty-eight hours.
  • Adding the break on top. The limits are spread-over figures, inclusive of the interval for rest.
  • Treating the non-working days as unpaid. Each proviso to section 5(1) makes them paid holidays.
  • Reading section 6 as permission to work staff seven days. It lets the establishment open every day. It does not touch the hours or the paid holidays.
  • Treating the section 8 night-shift conditions as advisory. The permission to work between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. is expressly subject to them.
  • Skipping the written consent. Condition (iii) requires it in writing and kept as a record.

Questions staff and employers ask

Is the four day week compulsory in Meghalaya?

No. Section 5(1) offers three patterns and the four-day and five-day options are expressly framed as arising due to the provision of flexibility in working hours. Six days at up to nine hours a day, with the seventh day a paid holiday, remains available.

How many hours can I be asked to work in a week?

A maximum of forty-eight hours in any week, under section 5(1). The daily figures of nine, ten and twelve hours are spread-over caps for the six-day, five-day and four-day patterns respectively, and they sit under that weekly ceiling.

How much overtime is allowed, and what does it pay?

The second proviso to section 5(1) caps overtime at 144 hours per quarter, says the condition of overtime may be made optional to all employees, and entitles employees who opt for it to wages at twice the ordinary rate.

Can a shop in Meghalaya stay open on every day of the year?

Yes. Substituted section 6 says every establishment registered under the Act may remain open on all days of the year, unless directed otherwise by way of Government order or notice.

Can women be required to work after 8 p.m.?

Section 8(1) permits work between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., but condition (iii) requires that where a female employee is required to work after 8 p.m., her written consent be taken and kept as a record. The other conditions on rest rooms, lighting, CCTV, the complaints committee and safe travel home apply at the same time.

What if my workplace has fewer than ten workers?

Condition (ii) of section 8(1) requires an Internal Complaints Committee where the establishment has 10 or more workers. An establishment with fewer than 10 workers shall refer any complaint of sexual harassment to the Local Committee of the District.

What is the penalty for breaking these rules?

Substituted section 23 provides a penalty which may extend to ₹50,000 for contravening any provision of the Act or the Rules, and the proviso raises it to a penalty which may extend to ₹1,00,000 for any second or subsequent contravention by the employer.

Sources

  • The Meghalaya Shops and Establishment Act, 2025, Meghalaya Act No. 13 of 2025, full text on India Code: indiacode.gov.in
  • Gazette of Meghalaya, Extraordinary, No. 161, dated 2 October 2025, Part IV, Law (B) Department notification No. LL(B).129/93/135
  • The Meghalaya Shops and Establishment Act, 2003, Act No. 4 of 2004, the parent statute amended
  • The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Prevention Prohibition and Redressal Act, 2013, Central Act 14 of 2013, applied by condition ii of section 8(1)
  • Right to Information Act, 2005: full text with the 14 November 2025 amendment

Reviewed by Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak. Last verified against the Gazette of Meghalaya text of Act 13 of 2025 on 30 August 2026.

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